Apparatus for keeping accounts.



PATENTED NOV. 20, 1906 P. BAHORTON. APPARATUS FOR KEEPING ACCOUNTS.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 29. 1906.

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PHILO B. HORTON, OF FLINT, MICHIGAN.

APPARATUS I 'OR KEEPING ACCOUNTS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 20, 1906.

Application filed November 29, 1905. Serial No. 289,685.

T0 at whom, it imty concern:

Be it known that I, PHILo B. HonToN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Flint, in the county of Genesee and State of Michigan, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for KeepingAccounts, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to apparatus for keeping accounts, and has for itsobject the provision of means whereby both credit and cash accounts maybe kept in such manner that the condition of such accounts may bereadily ascertained at all times.

In carrying out the invention means are provided whereby sales-slips maybe made at the time a sale takes place, and a record of said sales-slipsand the amounts thereof be made upon a statement-slip.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a sales-slipfolder, having a cut away portion through which the total of the accountwill be visible when said folder is closed.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in thedetailed description which now follows.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is an elevation of the sales-slipfolder, said folder being illustrated in its open position. Fig. 2 is atransverse section upon line 2 2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a plan view of aportion of a leaf-spring, having a credit-stopping tab applied thereto.

Like numerals designate corresponding parts in all of the figures of thedrawings.

Referring to the drawings, numeral 5 designates a sales-slip folderwhich is scored or creased at 6 to form the two halves 7 and 8 thereof,adapted to fold together when the sales-slip folder is to be filed away,as will be hereinafter described. A name-tab 9 is formed upon theportion 8 of the folder, as is best illustrated in Fig. 1. Statementsheets 10, the upper face of which is covered by a stiff Manilaprotecting-sheet 11, rests in portion 7 of folder 5. Wire-staples 12secure these statement-sheets together and also secure an eyelet 13 tothe pad of statement-sheets. The eyelet 13 engages the eye 14 of theleaf-spring 15, said leaf-spring comprising an upper leaf 16 and a lowerleaf 17, between which sales-slips 18 are held. The end of member 16 isforked, as at 19, for the reception of credit-stopping tab 20, as isillustrated in Fig. 3. A carbon or impression sheet 21 provides meansfor producing the statement-sheets in duplicate. Anidentification-number 22 is carried by each of the sales-slips. Thelower left-hand corner of the sales-slip folder is cut away, as at 23,for

a purpose which will be hereinafter set forth.

The method of using the hereindescribed elements when carrying out theimproved system of keeping accounts is as follows: When a clerk takes anorder, sales-slips 18 are prepared in duplicate. These sales-slipscontain the date upon which the order is given, together with the nameand address of the customer. When the order is taken, the articles areentered upon the sales-slips. The clerk then adds to the total of saidsales-slips the amount previously due upon the cus tomers account, sothat when the sales-slip is finally delivered with the goods thecustomer will have a complete statement of the account as it stands.

After all of the orders for the day have been delivered, the sales-slipof each account is inserted between the members 16 and 17 of spring 15in the sales-slip folder contain ing the name of that customer, and arecord of the sales-slip is entered upon the statement-sheet 10, aduplicate of which is formed by the insertion of carbon-sheet 21 betweensuch duplicate sheets. The total for the day is entered upon saidsales-slip, as at 68. The total amount previously entered upon thestatement-sheets is also entered upon the sales-slip and the added totalplaced therebeneath, as at 69, said total being visible through thecut-away portion of the folder when said folder is closed.

When an account is paid, the totals are cast up upon thestatement-sheets, which sheets are then receipted and the upper sheetdetached along the perforated line (see Fig. 1) and given to thecustomer as a receipt. The remaining carbon-copy forms a permanentrecord of the receipt given and shows exactly what the amount paid wasintended to cover.

By referring to Fig. 1 it will be seen that the statement-sheets arearranged to provide a record of the date and number of the salesslip,the method by which the order was given, and the amount of the order.The statement-sheets formed by the carbon-sheet 21 provides a permanentrecord, which shows exactly the state of any account. These recordstatement-sheets may be detached and sent to the customer if the accountis not promptly paid.

The forked spring member 16 provides convenient means for inserting thecreditstopping tab in any given folder in such manner that it will bereadily visible when said folder is closed and filed.

It is to be understood that in filing the folders the name-tabs 9alternate in position, being first located at the lower righthand cornerof the sales-slip folders and then at the upper right-hand corner ofsaid folders.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is.

The combination with a folder,- of a clip carried thereby and adapted tohold insertible record-sheets said clip comprising an elongated sectionof metal having its free end formed with a plurality of spaced, parallelslits adapted to hold a tab-card as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I affiX my signature in presence of two witnesses.

PHILO B. HORTON. Witnesses:

A. R. HORTON, ETHEL G. LoBDELL.

